BFs are for ever
by Stederion
Summary: Shion Akaito and Hatsune Mikuo are unable generate a beautiful friendship alone. With the help of those around them, the two opposite poles start to be attracted to each other and form a strong bond unlike any other. (The story isn't what it sounds like lol)
1. Chapter 1: The beginning

A/N: My first time uploading fanfictions to the net... Hope you enjoy it~ My friends did ;)

I don't own Vocaloid.

* * *

It occurred to Akaito as a shocking sight.

He actually saw SHORT teal hair.

As far as he knew that familiar shade of teal hair is anything but short. But he still saw it in a fleeting moment just around the corner.

He went on to find the owner of the short teal hair who shouldn't be far away since the person rounded the corner a few seconds ago.

"Hey, Miku, finally decided to cut your hair?" Akaito called as soon as the teal hair is in sight.

The person turned around. "If you're talking to me… I'm not Miku."

Indeed, it wasn't Miku's squeaky voice, although it sounded like Miku's voice pitched down. Akaito smirked. "Who are you, then?" A newcomer, huh… A Miku-wannabe, perhaps?

"I'm Hatsune Mikuo, Miku's brother." Mikuo sighed. "You must be-"

"Are you telling me that you're a boy? Seriously?!" Akaito exclaimed. Mikuo doesn't look like it at all…

"Yes. I am definitely male." Mikuo rolled his eyes. "You're Shion Akaito, aren't you?"

"Anyone can tell from my scarf and red hair. Yeah, that's me!" Akaito grinned.

Mikuo knew at first sight that this Mr. Akaito is an idiot.

He also figured at first sight that they're going to get along well.


	2. Chapter 2: The welcome party

A/N: Second chapter! Sorry if I kept you waiting

* * *

"Ello, Kuo!"

Mikuo looked up from his unpacked suitcase. "Good afternoon, Akaito. You barged in without knocking again."

"Whatcha doin'?" Akaito asked cheerfully.

"Unpacking my stuff." Mikuo shrugged. "Duh."

"Miku told me there's gonna be a surprise welcome party for you tonight!" Akaito grinned his usual grin. "Isn't that cool? I've never been in one before!"

"Surprise...?"

"Yeah! A surp-" Akaito stopped talking as he realised what he just said with a priceless expression on his face.

Mikuo felt bad for the redhead so he patted Akaito's shoulder in a comforting manner. "It's okay, Akaito. You... well, you did your best."

Akaito suddenly said, "I've gotta go tell everyone to change the plan! Mikuo already knew, so-"

"Akaito, there's no need for that," Mikuo said.

Akaito gave him a look. "Are you stupid? It's not a surprise anymore since you already knew it, so they've gotta know about that and change the plan!"

"Alright, so what about this." Mikuo figured he's going to get used to this stupidity. "We'll let this be a secret between us, okay? Just you and me."

Akaito's eyes lit up. "Okay!"

"For now, why don't you help me unpack my things?"

"Do you have a billion clothes like Miku does?"

"No."

"Do you have hidden ant-infested ice-cream boxes like Kaito does?"

"No..."

"Sure! I'll help you."

"..."

And so, Akaito encountered truckloads of books which was no better than ant-infested ice-cream boxes or 'a bit more' clothes.

But anyway they persevered until the time for the party came.

"So now you're supposed to go down for dinner and everyone will be there," Akaito said, "Splendid timing. Let's go."

So they went down and was greeted in great cheer.

"Happy birthday!" "Welcome home!" "Happy anniversary!" "Welcome to the Vocaloid house!"

"So what's the occasion?" Kaito asked Miku.

"It's Mikuo's welcome party," Miku said.

'Ooh's and 'Aah's echoed throughout the room.

And that's what a surprise party means, as Mikuo and Akaito had learned that day.

It was a pretty cool party with shouts and laughter and cake flying across the room. Leek ice-cream cake with pepper toppings wasn't exactly food anyway.

And then Meiko just had to get drunk. It's common knowledge in the house that drunk Sakine Meiko has as much destructive power as a bomb. Even Mikuo got notified about it before he came.

The party's as good as over when Meiko puts down the empty bottle of alcohol. Keeping that in mind, the rest of the Vocaloid household scrambled back to their own rooms while Meiko was still drinking her fifth bottle.

Except for Meito.

He's everyone's hero and Meiko's brother. He's always the one to clear things up after Meiko gets drunk and the only one person Meiko doesn't attack.

And so, the party ended with everyone safe and sound.

* * *

A/N: Hm... This chapter's a bit unsatisfying for me in terms of content...

Whatever! Hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 3: The duet

A/N: First things first, thanks to the reviewers for the reviews! I'm really happy when I read them...

And here's a reply to TW's review: Ikr! I love friendship stories too~ :)

This chapter's longer than the first two because it has more stuff happening...

Hope you enjoy~!

* * *

"Mikuo dear, accept this duet with Aka-chan, please?" Miku begged. Aka-chan means Akaito.

"What did you say was the song we're supposed to sing again?" Mikuo frowned.

"Magnet, if I'm not mistaken." Miku smiled a bit too brilliantly.

"No." Sheesh. No way. Ever.

"But, Mikuo..." Miku thought for a while, then said, "Ah, I remember now! It's Last Night Good Night! Not Magnet..."

"Eh..." For Mikuo, Last Night Good Night is not much better than Magnet... but at least it's better.

"Kuo!" Akaito called from behind Mikuo. "Looking forward to singing with you!"

"I'll be leaving now, 'kay? I have practice later. See ya~" Miku waved as she left.

"Okay..." Mikuo turned to Akaito. "So when are we recording it?"

Akaito gave him a look. "It's tomorrow, silly."

Mikuo gaped at the redhead. "What? No way... How am I supposed to do it perfectly in less than one day?! I need to practice right now!" He started striding towards his room. "Call me when dinner's ready!"

"Sure!" Akaito watched the boy run, then decided it might be fun to hear Mikuo practice. He himself had practiced the song quite well so he had plenty of time. He grinned when he saw that the door to Mikuo's room wasn't fully closed.

Mikuo took out a file from a cabinet and flipped through the music scores and lyric sheets. He finally found the one labelled "LNGN".

Bright red eyes watched as the teal haired youth sat on the bed and cleared his throat. Mikuo held the paper to his eyes and started singing. "Last Niiiiiight, Good Niiiiiiight..."

Akaito raised an eyebrow. Why is he starting from the chorus?

Mikuo stopped and flopped onto the bed with a sigh.

'Ganbatte, Kuo!' Akaito cheered quietly in his heart. 'Fight on, Kuo!'

Mikuo sighed again, stood up, and started singing from the verse.

This time Akaito was stunned.

Mikuo's voice was gentle and loving. Low and soothing at the verse and ear-friendly at the chorus.

Akaito grinned and left Mikuo to his practice.

The red version of Kaito may be dumb, but he is compassionate, too.

The next day, Akaito greeted Mikuo with the usual "Ello, Kuo!" just before breakfast.

"Good morning, Akaito." Mikuo yawned. "You didn't call me for dinner last night."

Akaito stopped dead in his tracks. "I... I'm sorry! I forgot-"

"It's okay." Mikuo turned to Kaiko who was setting the table. "I'm hungry, Kaiko..."

"I know!" Kaiko shouted. She turned to her brother. "Help me out, Aka-chan."

Akaito groaned but he did as he was told. He felt guilty for letting Mikuo go hungry so he didn't want Mikuo to wait any longer than possible.

After breakfast, they went straight to the studio.

"Are you nervous, Kuo?" Akaito peered at his friend.

"Quite." Mikuo was shaking.

"It's okay, Kuo. You'll do fine." Akaito patted him on the back.

Mikuo simply nodded.

"Why're you so nervous? You're Miku's brother. That's something."

"That's the point." Mikuo chuckled at Akaito's puzzled expression. "See, I get pressured because I'm her brother. People expect me to do well, but in truth I'm not that good at all..."

"I think you're awesome." Akaito grinned.

Mikuo's eyes widened. "But-"

"It's our turn to sing now, come on."

"Ah... okay."

It was a good duet. The two were surprisingly in sync. Everyone was happy, especially the boy with teal hair.


	4. Chapter 4: The basketball

A/N: Two chapters in a day! Cuz it's Saturday~ XD

This chapter is a little special: It's a crossover :3

Let's welcome the Kuroko no Basuke crossover~ ^o^

KnB belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi ^-^

* * *

"Kuo, let's play basketball!" Akaito suddenly appeared in front of Mikuo one day. He held the ball in his hands, eager to get outside.

"I don't really play basketball." Mikuo tried to wave him off to concentrate on his newly bought novel.

"Don't lie, Kuo. Miku told me you were amazing at basketball."

"I just play sometimes. I'm not that good."

"I'm not good at it too!" Akaito grinned. "Let's improve our skills!"

"... Fine."

"Yay! Let's go, Kuo!"

So there they were, Mikuo watching while Akaito dribbled the ball as best he could.

"I... ah... I'm not... good... at dribbling..." Akaito panted.

"... I know." Mikuo watched the ball get out of Akaito's hand again.

"Eeeehhh..." Akaito took off running after the ball.

Mikuo smiled a small smile.

"Kurokocchi, I saw your lookalike over there!"

"His name is Hatsune Mikuo, Kise-kun."

"Is he cosplaying?"

"..."

Mikuo looked to his left and saw Kuroko and a guy with yellow hair standing not too far away. He jogged towards them.

Kise widened his eyes when he saw Akaito returning. "And there's a Kagamicchi lookalike too!"

"Hello, Tetsuya," Mikuo greeted. He first knew about Kuroko when he was mistaken for the latter sometimes. They met during a convention of some kind and got along well.

"Good afternoon, Hatsune-kun." Kuroko looked at Akaito. "Who may that be?"

"My buddy, Shion Akaito." Mikuo motioned for Akaito to come over.

"I'm Kise Ryouta." Kise smiled his shiny smile at Mikuo.

"Nice to meet you, Kise-san." Mikuo nodded.

"Wassup, Kuo? Your friends?" Akaito walked up to them.

Mikuo nodded and made the introductions.

"So, what about we have a match?" Kise suggested, his eyes on the ball Akaito was holding.

"Sure!" Akaito grinned.

Mikuo hit Akaito on the head. "Yeah, right. You can't even dribble properly."

"We're on an errand, Kise-kun. Let's go." Kuroko dragged Kise off. "See you, Hatsune-kun, Shion-kun." Kise started objecting and begged to stay.

"See ya!" Akaito waved.

"Bye." Mikuo smiled. He turned to Akaito. "Let's continue, then?"

"I'm tired." Akaito huffed. "And hot."

"I think it'd help a lot if you take off your scarf, Akaito."

"I'm never taking it off, so there! Let's go home!"

"..."

* * *

A/N: This story didn't have much meaning, I'm afraid... But I still like it because it's interesting enough :)


	5. Chapter 5: The depression

A/N: Updating is proving to be hard with all my homework... But I'll do my best. :)

This chapter's a bit sad... And maybe a bit OOC... but everyone has their moods, right?

* * *

"Ello, Kuo!"

Mikuo turned over in bed and covered his head with his blanket.

"Miku's so cool! Her song topped the charts again!" Akaito tugged at Mikuo's blanket."Get up! They're celebrating it! It's a party! Hey, Kuo, let's go!"

Mikuo held on to his blanket as if he'd die if he let go.

"Kuo?" The tugging stopped.

Mikuo peeped out from under the blanket. "Please leave me alone."

"Why? Are you sick?" Akaito leaned in. Fiery red eyes met quiet teal ones.

"Sort of."

Akaito stood up straight. "I'd better go get-"

"No, I'm fine. Just... depressed." Mikuo sighed.

"Why?"

Mikuo winced. "I know I sound selfish saying this, but it's because Miku's song topped the charts yet again." Silence reigned for a while until Akaito broke it.

"I know... right...?" Akaito's voice trembled. "Sometimes I think about Kaito like that too." He sniffed. "You and I... we did our best... we put all our efforts into it, but then... we got outshone. Again and again. Sometimes I wonder if we're really there at all..."

"Hey, don't cry." Mikuo got up. He rubbed Akaito's back gently. "Don't cry..."

"I... I'm not crying! Wuwalalaba!" Akaito quickly put a hand over his mouth in embarrassment.

Mikuo didn't mind the nonsensical word. "Yes, you are."

Akaito sniffled as a tear rolled down his cheek. "So... so what!" He wiped the tear away, looked at Mikuo, then started laughing.

Mikuo laughed, too.

Both of them understood. It felt good to have a companion when you're feeling down.

"Tell you what," Mikuo said, half laughing, "We're envious of their achievements, right?"

Akaito nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"So we make them envious of us." Before Akaito could question anything, Mikuo explained, "We make them envious of our friendship. Our duets. We can't surpass them alone, but, together, we're far stronger than any one of them. How's it sound?"

Akaito's eyes gleamed. "Sounds like a plan."

"... It's not one," Mikuo said to Akaito's grinning face.


	6. Chapter 6: The styrofoam

A/N: Special thanks to my friend for this chapter! She gave me something to write about when I ran out of ideas :)

* * *

Mikuo woke up to something falling against his face. He panicked at first, thinking that spiders had fallen down from the ceiling, but it wasn't so.

"Morning, Kuo! It's snowing."

Mikuo turned to see Akaito standing over him, a styrofoam piece in his hands. The redhead brushed the piece against a hand and the fall outs sat silently on Mikuo's head.

"... Good morning, Akaito. Yes, it seems to be snowing in here." Mikuo smiled a creepy smile. "The snow, however, doesn't seem to melt, does it?"

Akaito ignored the creepy aspect of the smile. "Of course! It's just styrofoam, silly little Kuo. The real snow's outside."

"Wait... it's really snowing outside?" Mikuo looked at the window.

"It stopped early in the morning." Akaito went over and opened the window. A cold breeze blew in.

Mikuo joined Akaito at the window. The whole place was white with snow.

"Your first winter here, right?" Akaito nudged Mikuo softly.

Mikuo nodded.

"Happy winter." Akaito grinned.

"... Happy winter to you, too." Mikuo was glad Akaito had a heart of compassion, because he would get really mad if Akaito brought real snow to him.

Mikuo looked at his bed covered in styrofoam. "You'll clean that up, won't you?"

"Hm?" Akaito followed Mikuo's gaze. And gulped. "Ah... eh... you'll help me, right?"

"As if."

"I... I'll definitely show everyone the dirty magazines under your bed, Kuo! Definitely!"

"... There's no such thing under my bed."

Akaito huffed and went out. Moments later he came back with a dirty magazine and put it under Mikuo's bed. "There is now!"

Mikuo rolled his eyes. "Where'd you get it from?"

"I got it from-"

Suddenly Kaito dashed in through the door and landed a kick on Akaito's back.

"That guy," Akaito finished, pointing at his brother.

"... I see." Mikuo gave a satisfied nod. He'd never believe in a billion years that Akaito actually owned a dirty magazine.


	7. Chapter 7: The concert

A/N: Hello, I'm back with another chapter~

Hope you enjoy~

* * *

"Hey, Kuo, let's go see Miku's concert!" Akaito suddenly said one day.

"Why?" Mikuo nibbled on a potato chip out of boredom.

"Cuz it's fun!" Akaito rolled around on the carpet.

"Careful. Don't hit your head." Mikuo watched his friend roll.

"Rolling boy~~~~" Akaito laughed. "Wheeee~~~"

The moment Akaito rolled to his feet, Mikuo put a foot down on the redhead's scarf, halting him. "So, about the concert..."

Akaito blinked. "Yeah?"

"Do you really plan on going?"

"Um... yeah?" Akaito's eyes lingered around. "We're supposed to help out backstage."

"And you didn't tell me about this." Mikuo let go of Akaito's scarf. "Thank you very much. It's tonight, isn't it?"

Akaito stood up. "Now that I think of it... yeah!"

"We should probably be going now."

"Sure!"

Minutes later...

"Mikuo, please get us something to drink, will you?" "Aka-chan, what are you doing?!"

Mikuo left the room, his ears hurting from all the noise inside. Just then, Miku poked her head around the door. "Mikuo, if you see the Kagamines, tell them to come here, okay?"

"Sure." Mikuo nodded. Kagamine...? 'If she's talking about Rin and Len...' Mikuo smiled. It's been a long time since he last saw those two.

Mikuo was carrying cans of drinks back to the room when he heard voices behind him.

"Kuo-nii, is that you?"

"Of course it's Kuo-nii, Rin. It can't be Miku-nee, can it?"

Mikuo turned around and faced the twins. "Hello, Rin and Len. Long time no-" Before he could finish, Rin went forward and hugged him.

"Kuo-nii! It's so nice to see you again!" Rin gave him a smile.

Len had the same brilliant smile on his face. "I'll help you with those drinks, Kuo-nii!"

"Ah, thank you." Mikuo passed some of the cans to Len. "Let's go to the preparation room, then. They're waiting."

The threesome entered the room. "The Kagamines have arrived," Mikuo announced.

Akaito was the only one who was puzzled when he saw Mikuo talking and laughing with the twins as if they've been friends for a long time. Rin and Len moved out before Mikuo came, so why...?

Akaito pulled Mikuo aside just after the concert started. "Hey, Kuo, how come you know those two?"

"You mean Rin and Len?"

"Yeah!" Akaito's stare was so intense that Mikuo almost giggled.

"Ah, well, we were playmates when we're a lot younger. Miku, I, Rin and Len." Mikuo smiled as he remembered the times of the past. "Then the three of them left home to pursue their dreams so we hadn't met in a while... we did talk over the net, though."

Akaito looked upset about this. "They left you alone?"

"I wasn't really alone." Mikuo chuckled. "I had my parents and friends."

"But they're the closest ones to you, right? How could they do that to you?"

"Hey, it's nothing to be upset about..."

"I'm born in a big family so I never understood what being alone felt like... but if I ever were to be all by myself, I'd die! How come you-"

"As I said... I wasn't alone."

"No! I didn't... I mean..." Akaito was at a loss for words.

"You must be too tired. Go get some rest, okay?"

Akaito looked down at the floor. "I... actually I was just... upset that you had friends closer to you than I am..." His voice died down into an awkward silence.

To Akaito's surprise, Mikuo laughed. "You know what? You're the closest friend I've ever had, so what are you being so upset for?"

Akaito's eyes lit up in hope. "Really?"

"I wouldn't lie to you, would I?"

"I love you, Kuo!"

Mikuo's sixth sense told him the door would open at this very moment. And it did.

"For real?!" Miku screamed.

"No!" Mikuo immediately shouted.

* * *

A/N: Yup, that's all for today~

Gosh I'm tired T_T


	8. Chapter 8: The book

A/N: Hello! Double chapters again today... Because the two chapters are closely linked... And it's Saturday.

Without further ado, here you go!

* * *

Akaito tiptoed into Mikuo's room. The boy was out accompanying his sister for her shopping, so it's safe.

The room had a simple theme of white and blue and some bits of teal. Akaito walked to the bookshelf and looked through it.

Mikuo had quite a collection of books.

Akaito stuck out his tongue at the stack of books on music theory. He rummaged through the other books. He didn't find what he went there for.

He checked the desk next. The locked drawer looked pretty suspicious... He'll need a key for this.

Akaito went on to search for the key. He looked under the pillow first... and there it was.

"Aha!" Akaito grinned. Maybe he and Mikuo weren't so different after all... He unlocked the drawer and pulled it out.

He found it.

Mikuo's diary.

Akaito clutched it tightly and was about to leave when Mikuo came in.

"You're back!" Akaito squeaked. He sounded like Kaito.

"Yeah, I'm back. What are you doing in here?" Mikuo raised an eyebrow.

"N-n-n-nothing...! At all!"

"Really...?" Mikuo looked at Akaito's hand hiding behind his back.

"Really!"

"You know what?" Mikuo's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so." Akaito can't lie. He's so bad at it that you can even tell he's going to lie.

"Ah... ah... I..."

"What's that you're holding?"

Akaito gulped. "N-nothing...!"

"Show me."

"D-d-d-d-dehh! Wuwalalaba!"

Mikuo saw a corner of a book peek out behind Akaito. "Hm...? If you wanna borrow a book, just ask me."

Akaito's face went red in panic. He quickly hid the book.

Mikuo thought he recognised that little corner. That corner he stared at when his mind was blank...

"It's my diary, isn't it?"

Akaito flailed his arms and the book went 'thump' on the floor."I... I'm... I'm sorry!"

Mikuo picked up the book, then tossed it at Akaito. "I don't mind if you take it, but it must be back by dinnertime. I write my entries after dinner."

"You... don't mind? Really?"

"Yeah, since you're my friend and all. I won't forgive you if you spoil it though."

"I won't do such a thing! This is my best friend's most important thing, so I won't spoil it!" Akaito held the book to his chest in a protective manner.

"Well, I've a bath to take, so would you kindly leave for now?"

"Okay sure!" Akaito quickly went out. It shocked him that Mikuo would trust him so much. He gazed at the book in his hand, and he smiled.

Thank you for trusting me.

* * *

A/N: Eeeeeep I love this so much :D

Hope you enjoyed it! :)


	9. Chapter 9: The diary

A/N: Enjoy~

* * *

Akaito decided to return the diary after dinner. He left it on his desk and went off for dinner.

There's no action he regretted more than that.

"Ah... Mikuo...?" Akaito started in a small voice.

"Hm?" Mikuo looked up at him. "Did you spoil the diary?"

"No..."

Mikuo heaved a sigh of relief a little too soon.

"... I lost it." Akaito hung his head in shame. He knew he betrayed Mikuo's trust. Even if Mikuo forgives him, he's not so sure he'll forgive himself...

"How?" Mikuo didn't want to scold Akaito. Not just then.

"I left it in my room and when I got back, it's gone."

"Any idea who might have taken it?"

"No..."

Mikuo walked out without a word.

Akaito found out that he cries pretty often ever since Mikuo came.

Mikuo bumped into Megurine Luka while he was looking for his diary.

"Oh, hi, Mikuo-kun," Luka said.

"Hello, Luka-san," Mikuo replied, worry written all over his face. "Did you happen to see a diary? It's blue and has light blue patterns on the cover."

"I think I saw Kaito holding it. He's at the living room right now."

"Okay, thanks!" Mikuo immediately ran towards the living room. Before he reached it, he heard Kaito's voice reading something.

"Kaito!" Mikuo shouted, running into the living room.

The man with blue hair was standing in front of some Vocaloids, reading Mikuo's diary out loud. "Oh, hello, Mikuo-kun. Just in time-"

Mikuo snatched the book from his hands. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Having revenge on Akaito for that time when he revealed my collection of magazines. How does it concern you?" Kaito looked crossed. "I'm only starting. Now give it back."

"This is MY diary, not Akaito's!" Mikuo glared at Kaito. So Kaito thought it was Akaito's diary since it was in his room... That wasn't unreasonable, except for the fact that Akaito didn't look like one who'd keep a diary.

Mikuo left the living room as hurriedly as he came. He found Akaito still in his room from when he reported the diary as lost. The redhead was curled up into a ball on the floor.

"Akaito, I found it." Mikuo touched Akaito's shoulder. "It's okay now."

Akaito lifted his head, his eyes red and puffy from crying. "I'm so sorry, Kuo..."

"It's not your fault."

"It is. I put it there." Akaito said mournfully.

"If you say that again, I won't be your friend anymore." Mikuo grabbed Akaito's shoulders. "You hear?"

Akaito whimpered, then nodded.

"From now on you're only allowed to read my diary in my room."

"Okay." Akaito sniffed. "Will do."

Mikuo smiled. "It's settled, then."

"So... who took it?"

"You don't need to know." 'In case you kill your own brother.' Mikuo silently added.

* * *

A/N: That's all for today~ Thanks for reading~

Oh and before I forget, a big THANK YOU to keitanaka and Troubled Windchimes for being regular reviewers for this story! The reviews make me really happy and motivate me to do better! Thanks so much~ :D


	10. Chapter 10: The past

A/N: Whoa, it's Chapter 10 already!

My updating days are decided: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, except when exams come in the way.

As thanks (and apologies) for those who have been waiting for my updates, I'll be doing a double chapter today~ Thank you for your patience~

* * *

"So, Miku," Akaito started, "How's Mikuo like before he came here?"

"He's just like any other boy in his younger days," Miku said.

"What about later?"

Miku gave him a look. "Is it for a research project or something?"

"No, I'm just interested." Akaito cocked his head to one side. "Why do you ask?"

"Normally you'd ask him if you wanna know. Why ask me?"

"He told me to."

Miku nodded. Makes sense. "Okay, then. I'll tell you. In the time period after the Kagamines and I left and before he came here, Mikuo attempted suicide a few times."

Akaito blinked. "Why? He told me he wasn't alone."

"Maybe he's not alone, but he's definitely lonely," Miku explained.

"He said he had parents and friends."

"Not much difference if he didn't. No one around him cared for him. I could only reach him over the net, but he doesn't go online often." Miku sighed.

"But they stopped him from committing suicide, right?" Akaito asked hopefully.

"Nah, the one who always stops him is himself." Miku smiled sadly. "Now that I think of it, if it weren't for you, he'd still be the same today. So thank you for everything."

Akaito felt a feeling swell within him. It felt like pride and joy... He couldn't help smiling. "Aw, really?" He scratched his head shyly.

Miku smiled the smile Akaito had seen so often on Mikuo's face. "Please do watch over him in the future. You're very important to him; even more important than he is to you."

Akaito's face went red. "Sure... I'll look after him."

"You two are so close that I'm starting to envy you." Miku laughed.

Something in the past stirred behind Akaito's mind. Ah, yes. Mikuo said that they'll make the others envy their friendship... Akaito beamed. Mission accomplished!

Things like that aside, when Miku said that he's important to Mikuo, Akaito couldn't be happier. He's needed. Someone needs him.

Mikuo needs him.

Akaito smiled. He'll take good care of Mikuo. Definitely.


	11. Chapter 11: The talk

A/N: This chapter has been said to have a BL-like feel...

Well, you have been warned. (?)

* * *

"So, Kuo," Akaito grinned. "Do you have someone you like?"

"What kind of 'like' do you mean?" Mikuo looked up from his book on music.

"Like... that kind of 'like'. Y'know, a crush?"

"Oh..." Mikuo's eyes went back to the book. "No."

"Did you ever have a crush on someone?" Akaito's hand slapped on the page Mikuo was reading.

"No." Mikuo glanced at Akaito. "Please do remove your giant of a hand."

"Not until you decide to put it down and talk." Akaito pouted.

"Fine." Mikuo put the book down while Akaito removed his hand. "Talk."

"So, I'm wondering what that crush love is like." Akaito grinned. "I thought you might have a clue since you read so much."

"It's a feeling. You can't read about it to know it. You have to feel it yourself."

"Is it this feeling I have when I'm with you?" Akaito blinked.

"... I don't think so. You're giving me chills, by the way." Mikuo frowned. "What do you feel when you're with me anyway?"

"Um... like, I'm really happy... and I wanna do something for you... Like that."

Mikuo smiled. "You already did a lot for me."

"I wanna do more!" Akaito beamed. "Yeah! It's that smile! I wanna see it more often!"

Mikuo's face went red. "R-really...?"

"Yeah!" Akaito grinned. "I want you to be happy!"

Mikuo's eyes widened and he looked away once he felt it coming.

Akaito saw it. He saw that little bit of moisture around the fairly big teal eyes...

Hatsune Mikuo was crying.

Akaito panicked. What should one do when his friend is crying? And he knows enough to get it that Mikuo doesn't want Akaito to see him crying...

Meanwhile, Mikuo never felt so happy or vulnerable before...

But of course Akaito didn't know about that. "Kuo, you okay? Did I say anything wrong?"

"You said everything wrong! Look at what you did to me. I'm crying! This is unbecoming!" Mikuo couldn't help smiling. What a twisted being he had become...

"I'm sorry!" Akaito offered his scarf for Mikuo to wipe his tears on because the latter was wiping his tears with his hands. "Please, don't cry... I'm sorry for making you cry..."

Mikuo caught hold of the scarf and unraveled it. He smiled. "You actually look better without a scarf."

Akaito blinked in confusion. "Ah... Eh...? Weren't you...?"

Mikuo chuckled. "Thanks for all you said. I'm happy someone said that to me. And am I the only one besides your family to see you without a scarf?"

Akaito's hands went to his neck. He nodded, blushing madly.

Mikuo sighed. Akaito can be so cute sometimes. "Don't worry about me, okay? I was just really happy that you cared about me. I haven't heard someone say that to me in years."

Akaito nodded again. "Can I have my scarf back now?"

"Sure." Mikuo helped Akaito put his scarf back on.

"Um... Kuo?"

"Hm?"

"Did you really mean it when you said I look better without a scarf?"

"Yeah." Mikuo smiled. "You looked a good deal better."

"... Thanks."

"You're welcome."

* * *

A/N: That's all for today! So, what do you think? Was that BL-like? OwO


	12. Chapter 12: The question

A/N: Will a triple chapter update suit your tastes? :)

* * *

"Kuo, you haven't told me whether it's really that crush love I feel when I'm with you in the last chapter," Akaito said, taking a bite out of a bar of chocolate.

"Don't break the fourth wall on your own." Mikuo was lying on the floor reading another novel.  
"I told you it wasn't that kind of love."

"Yeah, but you asked how I felt. Did it sound like crush love?"

Mikuo thought for a while. "A bit. I think every kind of love is like that. It's very basic." He shrugged. "As long as you don't have the urge to kiss me or something, you're safe."

"What about hugs?"

"Depends." Mikuo sighed. "Go figure it out on your own."

"Okay." Akaito stayed silent for a while. "Hey, Kuo."

"What?"

"Are you and Miku twins?"

"Yeah. She's older. You and Kaito are twins, too, right?"

"Nah. I'm younger by two years." Akaito grinned. "Boy, I'm really good at catching up with Kaito's growth, aren't I?"

"Sure you are." Mikuo agreed. "You look older than Kaito already."

"Aw, really?" Akaito scratched his head shyly.

"Now that I think of it, so far I hadn't seen all of your siblings yet."

"Yeah." Akaito nodded. "There's Kikaito, Nigaito, Taito, Mokaito, Baraito, Ma-"

"Enough." Mikuo quickly said. "There's no end to the Shion family..."

"There's bound to be an end somewhere..." Akaito muttered.

"I'm hungry." Mikuo sat up on the floor. "Pass me the chocolate."

Akaito tossed another bar at Mikuo. "You sure you can eat that all?"

Mikuo opened the wrapper and broke off a bit of chocolate. "I don't have to eat it all in one go, do I?"

"Well... yeah. Unless you're living with my family. Nothing stays more than two days in the fridge." Akaito smiled. "Aw, I miss them already..."

"Maybe I'll go visit them sometime..."

"No!" Akaito quickly objected. "No way I'm letting you in there! Only Shions can put up with Shions! You could die in there I swear!"

"... Okay...?" Mikuo blinked. "If that's what you insist..."

Akaito heaved a sigh of relief.

Mikuo continued eating his chocolate. It's not like he didn't know about the crazy Shions anyway.


	13. Chapter 13: The duet II

A/N: I bet someone's waiting for this! :D

* * *

"Another duet with Akaito?" Mikuo sipped his tea.

"Well, they liked your cover of LNGN." Miku smiled. "So? How's it sound?"

"I'm fine with it." Mikuo shrugged, putting down his cup of tea. "I'm done with lazing around all day anyway."

"Okay! So this time you're doing a cover of Magnet! For real!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Mikuo rolled his eyes.

"You'll take the job?" Miku's eyes widened in shock.

"I suppose I can do that."

"You're dating him aren't you?!" Miku pointed an accusing finger at her brother. "That's why you accept the job with no problem! I never expected that my little brother-"

"It's just a song." Mikuo looked away. "It doesn't mean anything. The same as when you and Luka-san first sang it."

Miku nodded, cooling off. "I suppose so... Drawn to each other like Magnets... How romantic..."

"Magnets repel, too," Mikuo reminded her.

Miku pretended not to hear. "Anyway, good luck with telling Akaito the news. Bye!" Miku shot off in an instant.

"... Akaito didn't know?" Mikuo blinked. He then sighed and went to Akaito's room. He knocked on the door. "Akaito, you there? I have news..."

The door opened a little and Akaito peeked out. "Why are you torturing me this early in the morning?"

"It's afternoon, Akaito. You spent the whole night playing games again, didn't you?"

Akaito pouted. "And I kept losing. What is it?" He opened the door further.

"We're doing a cover of Magnet."

Akaito slammed the door and screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" at the top of his lungs.

Mikuo felt pity for the redhead. "Well, do remember to practice."

"NOOOOOOOOOO..."

Days later, in the recording room at the studio...

"Kuchibiru kara shita e- pfft." Akaito failed the part for the sixth time that day. "Sorry, it's just- pfft."

"Bear with it," Mikuo said calmly. In truth he's not doing well in handling it either.

"Sorry..." Akaito straightened himself. "One more time!"

Mikuo sighed.

At long last, the recording is complete.

"I'm feeling so guilty right now..." Akaito sat on the bench with his head buried in his hands.

"Tell me about it." Mikuo was in a similar position next to his friend. "I think I'll go attempt suicide."

"Not funny, Kuo."

"At least I tried."

"Kuo."

"Hm?"

"Let's go reward ourselves with ice-cream." Akaito stood up. "We deserve it."

"We deserve more than ice-cream." Mikuo stood up alongside him. "Let's go get ice-cream anyway."


	14. Chapter 14: The confession

A/N: This is where the pairing comes in! *drumroll*

* * *

Mikuo didn't know what to feel. He figured he should probably feel guilty for listening in.

A girl confessed her feelings to Akaito.

Mikuo smirked. Even that idiot had someone after him, so where does that put Mikuo himself...?

The girl was okay-looking... The typical cute girl, he supposed. But then again, Mikuo wasn't one to judge by looks.

"I... I love you! I've been liking you ever since I..." The girl was blushing madly.

And so was Akaito. Mikuo never saw Akaito's face so red before. It's as red as his hair. "Ah..."

"So... please go out with me!" the girl finally said.

Mikuo turned an intense gaze at Akaito. How will the idiot reply...?

Mikuo's eyes entered a whole new level of width as he saw Akaito nod.

'Oh, great. Just great.' Mikuo turned on his heels and left the place quietly. Akaito has a girlfriend before he does. What next?

Something tugged on Mikuo's pants. He looked down.

Of course. Hachune Mikuo. The air-headed super-deformed version of himself who does nothing more than Hachune Miku does. Which means waving leeks all day.

Mikuo did snatch the leek away before. Hachune Mikuo simply went still for a while before going berserk.

Mikuo picked up the little thing. "Are you going to get a girlfriend too, little guy?"

Hachune Mikuo didn't respond. He climbed up on Mikuo's head and stayed there.

Mikuo sighed. The last time the little guy did that, he got complimented for a 'nice new hat'.

"Kuo!"

Akaito's voice startled Mikuo. The latter turned around so quickly that Hachune Mikuo almost fell off. "Huh?"

"Guess what! I got a girlfriend!" Akaito was jumping up and down. "I can't believe it!"

"I can't believe it too," Mikuo said without the slightest bit of surprise.

"You never get surprised, do you?" Akaito pouted.

"I just get informed beforehand." Mikuo shrugged. "Say, what's the girl's name?"

"Ah..." Akaito blinked. "... I forgot."

Mikuo calmly gave his friend a good smack on the head. "You. Idiot."

* * *

A/N: This marks the end of the triple chapter update! Thanks for reading!

Guess the girl's name if you want to. :D


	15. Chapter 15: The girl and other stories

A/N: I'm down with illness now so I'll just put up a chapter today...

Thanks for bearing with me :)

* * *

"I went to our first date," Akaito reported, walking into Mikuo's room, "But I still haven't asked what her name was."

"Oh, I got that covered." Mikuo looked up from his laptop. "Her name is Anone Muri."

"Oooh." Akaito blinked. "Anone Muri... sounds kinda cute."

Mikuo didn't say anything to the comment. "She's our kind, but she refuses to sing due to reasons unknown."

"Vocaloids that don't sing? Cool!" Akaito whistled.

"They can hardly be called Vocaloids." Mikuo frowned.

"Don't be so serious about it." Akaito hit Mikuo on the back a tad bit too hard.

"Ow." Mikuo glared at the redhead.

"Sorry." Akaito rubbed Mikuo's back. "I think I'm falling in love with her."

"Congrats." Mikuo turned off the laptop. "I'd appreciate it if you don't forget about me."

"How could I ever forget my best friend?" Akaito laughed. "You can be so strange sometimes."

"That's what they all said." Mikuo looked to the side. "'I won't forget about you', huh! I bet they can't even remember my name now."

Akaito was accustomed to this. Once in a while Mikuo would remember his painful past. He would appear to be angry about what others did to him, but in truth the boy's asking for a promise that the same won't be done unto him again.

So, as usual, Akaito draped an arm over Mikuo's shoulders and comforted him, saying, "I won't do what they did, Kuo. Never. So don't worry, 'kay?"

Mikuo continued sulking, but Akaito saw the corners of his mouth turn up, signalling that everything's okay now.

Akaito removed his arm and was about to leave when the door opened.

Meito stood at the door, a small smile on his face. "Aka, your girlfriend's on the phone."

Akaito beamed and left the room in a hurry, leaving Mikuo alone with Meito.

"Hello, Mikuo," Meito greeted. "It's so easy to guess where Aka would be at, isn't it?"

Mikuo nodded. "That's Akaito for you." He felt a bit uncomfortable. He doesn't talk to Meito much, but he did know that Meito was Akaito's best friend before he came.

Mikuo thought this to be awkward, but Meito didn't seem to mind at all.

Meito leaned against a wall. "So, did dear little Aka find out the girl's name?"

"I found it out for him," Mikuo answered.

Meito chuckled. "That's just so him. So, what's her name, Mikuo?"

"Anone Muri."

Meito raised an eyebrow. "So she's finally made the move! I hope Aka takes good care of her. She's such a dear."

"You know her?" Mikuo looked at the man with curious eyes.

"Sort of. She's been liking Aka for two years now. Not bad in today's standards, eh?"

"Now I hope even more that Akaito will like her back." Mikuo sighed.

"Don't worry, Mikuo." Meito patted Mikuo on the head. "Aka's a kind soul."

"Liking someone out of kindness is just-"

"Kindness comes from love, Mikuo." Meito smiled. "And I'm sure Aka won't forget you. He's too kind to do that."

Mikuo tensed up. 'Did Meito overhear what I said...?' His face warmed up in embarrassment.

"Which means he loves you too much to forget about you." Meito winked. "Don't tell him I said that."

"That's just too creepy," Mikuo complained, "You could've put it in a less creepy way."

"But you don't hate it." Meito smiled. "I wonder who Aka will choose. You or Muri-chan?"

Mikuo found no meaning in answering that so he kept quiet.

"Muri-chan definitely doesn't want Aka to choose someone other than her... But you can't bear to be alone again, can you? Even though you have other friends..."

"Akaito doesn't have to choose. He can have both," Mikuo said curtly.

"You're avoiding the question, Mikuo." Meito sighed. "Never mind. You'll find out soon enough that Aka doesn't have time for everything." He then added in a dark tone, "Like I did when he became friends with you. You know what he said? 'Kuo needs more care. The kid's attempted suicide before. I can't just leave him alone like that. Maybe next time.' But 'next time' never came."

Mikuo panicked at first, thinking Meito might harm him, but then he found that Meito wasn't angry.

"We're the same, Mikuo." Meito gave Mikuo a sad look.

"I don't trust Akaito for nothing," Mikuo said firmly, "I believe that the 'next time' will come soon. He may be an idiot, but he's a caring idiot. He may forget names, but he'll never forget promises. That's Akaito for you."  
But somewhere deep inside him, Mikuo was unconsciously starting to doubt his own words...

Meito sighed and smiled. "Ah, yes. That's just so Aka." He ruffled Mikuo's teal hair. "You're a good kid, Kuo-kun."

"Kuo-kun...?" Mikuo didn't comprehend the change in the way Meito addressed him.

"Welcome to Sakine Meito's circle of friends." Meito smiled warmly. "Sorry for having a grudge against you before."

"It's okay." Mikuo beamed. He's got a new friend today.

* * *

A/N: That's all for today! Please forgive my inability...

If I don't write a new chapter in the manuscript soon, all the chapters will be used up and there will be no more frequent updates BWAHHHH T_T


	16. Chapter 16: The visit

A/N: Update day today, isn't it~

Busy busy busy *_*

* * *

Mikuo stared at Hachune Mikuo, bored to death. The latter was waving a leek as usual.

"Hey, little guy... how's visiting Rin and Len sound?" Mikuo asked lazily. Akaito's on a date with Muri again and Meito's doing the usual load of paperwork while keeping an eye on Meiko.

Hachune Mikuo stared blankly back at Mikuo.

"I'll take that as an okay." Mikuo picked up the little thing and let him climb up on top of his head.

Moments later, Mikuo was ringing the bell of the Kagamines' house.

The door opened to reveal Rin standing there. "Oh! Hello, Kuo-nii! What a surprise!"

"Hi, Rin. Mind if I spend the afternoon with you two?" Mikuo asked, smiling.

"No prob! Hey, Len, Kuo-nii's here!" Rin ran inside shouting. She turned back to Mikuo. "Come in, Kuo-nii!"

Mikuo went inside the yellow house. He put Hachune Mikuo on the floor and looked around. The living room was white and yellow and orange, just as expected.

"Kuo-nii!" Rin came running back with Len.

Mikuo couldn't help smiling. He had to admit, sometimes the twins are just so cute and healing sometimes. "Hi, Len."

"Hello!" Len grinned as Rin hugged Mikuo tightly. "Say, who's this?" Len gazed curiously at Hachune Mikuo.

"This is Hachune Mikuo." Mikuo nudged the little guy with his foot.

"Mikuo-kun, what a surprise to see you here!"

Mikuo looked up and saw Megurine Luka standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen. "Ah, hello, Luka-san." Luka and Luki often go to the Kagamines' house to help out.

"Yo! Mi! Ku! O!" Luki peeked out from behind Luka, Tako Luka sprawled on his back. "What brings you here?"

"Hi, Luki-san. I was bored and decided to come over." Mikuo smiled, still getting hugged by Rin.

"One more serving of cake, got it!" Luki winked and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Kuo-nii, you HAVE to see our new road-roller!" Rin released Mikuo and tugged at his shirt. "Come on!"

"'New'...? You mean you broke the other one?" Mikuo whistled, getting dragged outside.

"Well, sort of." Len smiled sheepishly.

Mikuo was looking at the gleaming yellow vehicle when Luki's voice called. "Time for some snacks, children!"

You should have seen the twins run back inside. Mikuo followed behind, making sure the door was closed. He was used to tidying up after those two.

Soon they were all sitting at the dining table eating cake. Mikuo was zoning off thinking about things back home when Hachune Mikuo hit him with his leek to get more cake.

Mikuo sighed and fed the little guy some cake.

"Mikuo, missing Akaito already?" Luki, asked, making Len choke on his cake.

"Luki-nii! Don't put it like that!" Len complained. Rin patted his back.

"Sorry, Len-kun. So, Mikuo?" Luki looked at Mikuo.

"... Sort of." Mikuo nibbled a piece of cake, his thoughts not really focusing.

"I knew it." Luki smiled a victorious smile. "So I've asked him to come over after the date."

It got Mikuo's attention all right. "What? He's already tired from the date. He shouldn't-"

"He said he's happy to." Luki didn't stop smiling.

"That idiot..."

Luka looked at the clock. "It's about time he comes," she said, standing up. "I'll go get some drinks ready."

"I'll help out," Luki offered and stood up, too.

After the pink duo left, Rin and Len gazed intently at Mikuo.

"Yes, what is it?" Mikuo asked.

"We've been meaning to ask this but..." Rin's voice trailed off.

"Is Akaito more important to Kuo-nii than we are?" Len finished for her.

Mikuo panicked. How should he answer that? His first move was to deny it, but it would mean he's lying... And he hates lying.

Mikuo's hesitation answered the question, though.

"... I see." The twins' disappointed faces pained Mikuo.

As Mikuo was about to say something, the doorbell rang.

The twins exchanged looks.

"No blocking the door, now." Mikuo could almost feel what they had in mind. He stood up and went over to the door.

Mikuo opened the door to see Akaito with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. "Luki... have you seen Kuo? He's missing..."

"... I'm here," Mikuo said, baffled. Didn't Luki inform Akaito that he's here?

Akaito looked up and was shocked as well. "Did Luki... invite you over too?"

"... I came on my own."

"What...?" Akaito was confused. "Luki invited me over... so I thought I'd bring you, too, since you're good friends... but when I reached home I couldn't find you..."

"You idiot..." Mikuo understood then.

It seemed like Rin and Len understood, too. They went up to Akaito and started calling him "Aka-nii".

Akaito's bewildered expression made Mikuo laugh.

Akaito's just so... lovable.

* * *

A/N: That's all for today! See ya!


	17. Chapter 17: The sleepover

A/N: This one's really short in the manuscript. I'll see what I can to do lengthen it ;)

* * *

"Another duet?" Mikuo was quite satisfied with all the work. At least he's not bored.

"Yeah." Miku smiled. "Your Magnet killed all the fangirls."

Akaito winced. "So what's the song this time?"

"Happy Synthesizer!" Miku announced excitedly. "I love the dance!"

"Ooh! I know!" Akaito began doing part of the dance. "It goes like this! Then this and this!"

"Okay..." Mikuo shrugged. "I guess I'm fine with that..."

"I'll teach you the steps, Kuo!" Akaito grinned. "Then we can dance together."

"Okay..." Mikuo nodded. More work, less boredom. He's not complaining.

"Then we might dance Bad Apple! sometime." Akaito had that dreamy sort of look on his face.

"Okay..."

"First things first. You have to sing," Miku reminded them.

"Will do!" Akaito grinned. "Right, Kuo?" He looked at Mikuo.

"Yeah..."

"Kuo, you okay?" Akaito put a hand on Mikuo's forehead. "Your voice is so soft today."

"I'm just a bit tired... your fault for dragging me to play games with you in the middle of the night, Akaito." Mikuo yawned.

"You're the one who kept wanting to replay!" Akaito said in defense.

"That's impossible. The only thing I wanted to do was to go to sleep."

"But you said you wanted to play some more!"

"Another false accusation about this and you're dead." Mikuo glared at him. "By the way, why won't you let me go back to my room? The floor's not a good place to sleep on."

"At least! At least I slept with you, you know! I didn't go to bed last night."

Mikuo frowned. "That's-"

Miku interrupted, "Hey, Aka-chan, that was an awesome sentence. Fangirls will die again."

Mikuo threw his sister a look and turned back to Akaito. "Spit it out. What's going on yesterday?"

Akaito fidgeted for a while until he answered, "Kaito told me there's a monster in my room... But listen to me! He said it won't attack if there's more than one person in the room! I didn't believe it at first but then I heard some noises and I was scared... And then I remembered you saying you're staying up late to finish a novel so I went and got you to accompany me! You saved my life!"

Mikuo didn't even bother to react.

"Please believe me!" Akaito begged.

"... I forgive you, if that's what you're asking for." Mikuo sighed.

"I can ask you over the next time it comes, right?" Akaito asked hopefully.

Mikuo thought for a while, looked at Akaito's hopeful face, thought some more, then said, "Yeah. Sure."

Akaito's eyes lit up. "Yay! I love-"

"That's enough fangirl service for today," Mikuo said, interrupting him.

* * *

A/N: The add-on was pretty well done for someone like me... Yay~


	18. Chapter 18: The truth

A/N: Sorry for updating so late! At least it's still Saturday! XD

* * *

"Kuo! Look! Look at this!" Akaito dragged Mikuo to his room where his laptop sat glaring on the desk. He sat his friend in front of the screen, pointing at a few pictures.

Pictures of them which... well, you know. Fangirls.

"Yeah? So what about this?" Mikuo inquired, looking up at the redhead.

"I already have Muri-chan but they kept posting things like this." Akaito was almost in tears out of desperation. "There's a lot of fanfics too..."

"All fanwork, nothing to worry about." Mikuo stood up and patted Akaito on the back. "Just ignore them."

"Don't you mind?" Akaito asked in unbelief.

Mikuo shrugged. "There's a lot of stuff I don't mind."

"Even stuff like we have a place in the top 10 Vocaloid pairings?"

"... Even stuff like that."

"Even stuff like I'm dating Muri-chan?"

"... I have issues with that." Mikuo smiled bitterly. "You go on a date like, what, every single day? And you expect me to be okay with that? I might just move in with the Kagamines, you know?"

"Um... it's good to be with people you like all the time..." Akaito didn't look him in the eye. "Like that... So I'll be with Muri-chan and you'll be with Rin and Len. Problem solved, right...?"

"And just forget whatever happened between us? Is that what you're trying to say?" Mikuo knew he was being unreasonable. Whatever. He needs to vent once in a while, doesn't he?

"No! I mean..." Akaito was at a loss for words.

"Did you give Meito his 'next time'? No, right? What's the matter with you? It's like you don't care about old friends once you get someone else! It's a wonder Meito could bear with this for so long!"

"That's not it, Kuo!" Akaito quickly said, grabbing Mikuo's shoulders to try stopping him from saying anymore.

"Then what is?" Mikuo's look was almost pleading. Begging.

Frantic red eyes met watery teal ones.

"... I don't know..." Akaito looked at the floor, his grip tightening.

Mikuo realised that he's going too hard on the poor guy, so he reached up and patted his hand. "It's okay, Akaito. I'm sorry for saying things like that..."

Akaito looked up. "No! I'm the one who should be sorry! I hurt both you and Meito... I'm sorry!" He remembered something and released Mikuo, running out the door. "I'm gonna say sorry to Meito!"

Mikuo watched Akaito run off, a strange smile on his face.

Kaito peeked in around the door. "... Hey, Mikuo-kun."

Mikuo rubbed his eyes. "Hello, Kaito."

"Akaito's just like a kid, you know. He's really bad at multitasking so don't hate him, okay?"

"I don't hate him." Mikuo sighed. "But, really, I think I'm at fault for making him upset..."

"He'll have to face the truth sooner or later." Kaito shrugged. "For me, you helped him grow up a bit."

"Say, Kaito." Mikuo looked down at his own fingers. "Will he be, like, don't wanna be friends with me after this?"

"Not much of a chance of that happening, because this whole story's about your friendship with him."

"... Please don't give me that kind of assurance."

"Just kidding. Lighten up, Mikuo-kun."

"There's Rin and Len and Miku and all the others, but no one's been so close to me like Akaito is... or was."

"Is," Kaito said, trying to ease the kid of any more unnecessary thoughts.

"I'm not so sure anymore." Mikuo felt a sharp throb in his chest. "I don't wanna go back to that state where I'm all alone."

Kaito listened on.

"I'm not worthy to have a friend, am I?" Mikuo continued. "I'm not as good as Miku... why would anyone-"

"You're getting on my nerves, kid." Kaito couldn't take it anymore. "You're good, you hear? Why would you compare yourself to someone else? You know Akaito's an idiot. If he's your friend, he's your friend. No regrets."

"But I upset him-"

"I SAID, Akaito's an idiot. The only thing he knows is that you're his best friend and BEST FRIENDS ARE FOR EVER."

Mikuo stared at Kaito, wanting to believe what the blue man said. "... Really?"

"As real as my love for ice-cream. So now go have fun with him." Kaito sighed. "Kids these days..."

"Thanks so much, Kaito!" Mikuo gave Kaito a quick squeeze before running off to find Akaito.

Kaito smiled at Mikuo's running form. "Really, kids these days..."

* * *

A/N: Mikuo entered a not-so-calm mode in this chapter...

I refuse to call this OOC *pouts* There are some things Mikuo hold close to his heart, you know.

And one of those things is called Shion Akaito. *winks*


	19. Chapter 19: The outing

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating yesterday. My Internet connection was down... Everything's okay now, so sit back and enjoy~

* * *

"Meito, check. Kuo, check. Me, check. Muri-chan... where's Muri-chan?" Akaito blinked at his two friends.

"Kuo-kun told her that it's a boys-only event." Meito glanced at Mikuo.

"Ohh, you little ball of jealousy." Akaito pinched Mikuo's cheek.

"It's about time you take a breather from all the romance." Mikuo frowned.

Akaito pouted. "Very clever, little kid."

"Say, where are we going again?" Meito interrupted. He's not going to waste a day off listening to their squabbling.

"Kuo's in charge of the plans, right?" Akaito looked at Mikuo pleadingly.

Mikuo raised an eyebrow. As if Akaito's not the one who volunteered to do all the planning... "Oh, yeah. We'll just go look around in the next town so we'll be going by train."

Akaito heaved a sigh of relief.

Meito nodded, pretending not to notice Akaito's obvious behavior. "Let's go, then."

"Um, Kuo..." Akaito said while following Meito's lead, "Where exactly are we going?"

"Wherever Meito brings us." Mikuo shrugged.

"Ehh..."

Meito wasn't called the big brother for nothing. He brought his two 'very cute' friends to every place in the town he could think of, since he used to go there to hang around... Good old days.

It resulted in a carefree trip with lots of fun and bickering. They went to cafes, malls, a zoo...

When at last they rode the last train home, they were tired out.

"Aka, Muri-chan's gonna be jealous," Meito said softly.

Mikuo was dozing off with his head leaning on Akaito's shoulder.

"Nah, it's okay." Akaito yawned. "The kid's tired from looking out for us." He smiled as he remembered the incredulous things he did with Meito while Mikuo freaked out and kept talking about the rules and whatnot.

"Aka, do you suppose Kuo-kun likes you? I mean, he's jealous of Muri-chan, right?"

Akaito blinked. "I don't think so..." He looked at the boy. "He's just scared of being alone. You know what he went through... Silly little Kuo."

Meito nodded. He didn't bother to remind Akaito that Mikuo had other friends.

Mikuo shifted in his sleep.

Akaito ruffled the teal hair, a smile warming his face.

Meito smiled, too. "He's our little brother now, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

* * *

A/N: That's all for today! :3


	20. Chapter 20: The date

A/N: It's me again! Was a bit moody because of miscommunication problems with someone... But whatever! Enjoy!

* * *

"You know how you're always moody when I'm not there, especially when I'm on dates?" Akaito said to Mikuo one day.

"Yeah?" Mikuo didn't need Akaito to tell him how moody he was.

"I've come up with a brilliant solution." Akaito's eyes gleamed.

Mikuo could tell what Akaito had in mind. It's not hard to guess.

Akaito grinned. "I'll bring you on our dates! Isn't that brilliant?"

Bingo! Mikuo sighed. "Is Muri-san okay with this?"

"She said it's okay!" Akaito was excited. "Isn't that cool? The next date is at three p.m. today so get ready, 'kay?"

"Three?" Mikuo said calmly, "Don't you mean, now?"

Akaito looked at the clock. "... Um... yeah?"

Well, at least the idiot knew enough to panic.

When at last they arrived at the venue, Muri was already waiting.

Muri smiled a sweet smile. "Hi, Akaito-kun and... Hatsune-sama!" She ended her sentence with a scream.

Mikuo looked at her, puzzled. "Uh, hello, Muri-san..."

"Hatsune-sama called my name! Kyaaaa!" Muri took Akaito's hand in excitement.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Akaito turned to Mikuo. "Muri-chan's a big fan of yours."

"... Eh?" Mikuo was in shock.

"Hatsune-sama! I can't believe you're right here!" Muri looked to be full of gratefulness. "Thank you so much for coming!"

"... I can come to every date if you want..." 'Because I'm pretty bored,' Mikuo added silently. He continued, "Just call me Mikuo. It's easy to get confused, you know. My sister and I."

"Then... Mikuo-san?" Muri was blushing and putting her hands on her face. "Miku-san's not even half as good as you!"

"... Thanks... I think?" Now that's news. No one said that to Mikuo before. Absolutely NO ONE. Mikuo was in a bigger wave of shock.

"And... do you mean it when you said you can come to every date? Please by all means do so!" Muri was extremely excited about that...

"Kuo, you're taking my girlfriend away..." Akaito said.

"Ah?" Mikuo blinked. "Oh, um... yeah..."

"Kuo, you okay?" Akaito touched Mikuo's shoulder.

"I'm fine." Mikuo regained his composure, just as expected of him. "Well, then... shall we get going?"

"Sure!" Muri shouted.

"Kuo, my girlfriend..." Akaito sniffled.

"I didn't expect this." Mikuo gave Akaito a look.

"I'm sorry for not telling you... But... my girlfriend..." Akaito looked at Muri.

"Things will work out." Mikuo shrugged. "Somehow."

"Don't worry, you two." Muri smiled at them. "Akaito-kun and Mikuo-san are different for me. Akaito-kun is my boyfriend and Mikuo-san is someone I look up to."

Mikuo smiled. "You're such a nice girl, Muri-san."

Muri blushed. "Th-thank you..."

Akaito was still annoyed by the way the two were interacting. "Kuo..."

Mikuo sighed. "I got it, Akaito."

Akaito walked forward with his head bent low and held what he thought was Muri's hand.

But, of course(?), it wasn't Muri's hand he held.

There was an awkward silence with Akaito holding Mikuo's hand while Muri was shocked still.

"A... Akaito-kun..." Muri said softly, "I didn't know..."

Akaito realised that he had made the worst mistake yet. He flung Mikuo's hand away. "It's not... I thought it was you!" He couldn't figure out how he could possibly make such a mistake... then he remembered the author (A/N: *raises hand* Yup it's me).

Mikuo was silent all along, but the aura around him was roaring in rage.

"I... I'm sorry, Kuo!" Akaito quickly apologised. He was about to mention the author when he remembered that Mikuo didn't like the breaking of fourth walls.

Mikuo said, with eerie calmness, "You idiot..."

"I'm sorry! Don't kill me!" Akaito hid behind Muri.

Mikuo rolled his eyes. Wasn't that manly, Akaito? "Wasn't I glad that it wasn't a stranger's hand you held? It saved me a lot of trouble, Akaito. Thank you so much."

"... Kuo?" Akaito whimpered.

"We'll settle this at home," was the only thing Mikuo said.

"Eep!"

* * *

A/N: That's all for today! Thanks for reading~


	21. Chapter 21: The song

A/N: Truth to be told, the remaining chapters in stock is reaching the bottom... I think it's writer's block. QwQ

Need more AkaKuo moe to keep it going XD

* * *

"Hey, Kuo, what are you doing?" Akaito peeked over Mikuo's shoulder.

"Writing a song. Miku asked me to." Mikuo penciled in a note.

"Whoa, you're so cool, Kuo!" Akaito looked at the notes neatly written on the manuscript.

"Hm..."

"Can I sing it?"

"Not yet." Mikuo tapped the pencil against the desk.

"Any lyrics?"

"Not yet."

"Can I write the lyrics?"

"After I'm done."

"... It's boring today." Akaito sighed.

"Where's Muri-san?" Mikuo wrote in another note.

"She's on a girls-only trip with Haku and the others."

"Oh."

"I wanna sing this, Kuo."

"One last note left..." Mikuo drew in the last line. "Done!"

Akaito snatched the paper and studied the melody. "You're really good at this, Kuo! Now listen to me sing in the lyrics!"

"Go ahead." Mikuo nodded.

Akaito grinned and started singing. "It's a wonder how you never saw me, it's a wonder how I'm so sad. I don't think this is too bad, I even feel somewhat glad... If you listen and you hear, if you look and you see, if you touch and you feel..."

Mikuo listened to his impromptu attentively.

"Do you like it?" Akaito asked when he had finished, looking at his friend hopefully.

"It's just a big lump of scattered word pieces."

Akaito's face fell.

"But I like it. It's nice." Mikuo smiled.

Akaito beamed. "I like your melody, too."

A broad smile appeared on Mikuo's face. "Thank you."

Akaito took the pencil from Mikuo and scrawled in the lyrics. "Let's take this to Miku."

So they did just that.

Miku looked at the manuscript. "It sounds cute! You wanna sing it, Mikuo?"

"Ah?" Mikuo stared at his sister in bewilderment.

"You can do a duet with Aka-chan, too. I'll let you sing your own melody!" Miku smiled, giving the paper to her brother.

"Isn't that cool, Kuo?" Akaito patted Mikuo's back.

"Uh..." Mikuo stared blankly at the paper in his hands.

He's finally going to sing his own song...!

Mikuo couldn't help smiling. "Yeah... thanks..."

That was the first time Mikuo felt so grateful for having people around him who cared for him.

* * *

A/N: There's no actual song involved in the making of this chapter. XD


	22. Chapter 22: The incident

A/N: Please forgive me for updating so late!

* * *

"So, Kuo, about our next boys-only trip, let's invite Len and Luki too! How's that sound?"

Mikuo couldn't catch what Akaito was saying. "Uh... What did you say?"

"I said, let's invite Len and Luki to our next boys-only trip." Akaito looked at Mikuo, a little worried. It's not like Mikuo to ask someone to repeat.

"Oh... sure..." Mikuo rubbed his forehead. His head hurt.

"Kuo, you okay? You look so pale..." Akaito worriedly touched Mikuo's hand. It was cold. "Kuo?"

"Yeah?" Mikuo could hardly keep his eyelids from shutting.

"Are you alright? Hey, Kuo...!"

Mikuo didn't manage to make out what Akaito said as the whole world blacked out in front of him.

"Hey, Kuo!" Alarms went off inside Akaito's head as he shook Mikuo's body furiously without getting any response. "Kuo!"

Holding back tears of fright, Akaito ran out to get anyone who could help. As he looked around frantically, he ran into Luki.

"Akaito...? What's the rush?" Luki asked, startled by Akaito's desperate expression.

"It's Kuo! He... I dunno what happened but he just went down like that!" Akaito screamed.

"Where is he?" Panic started welling up inside Luki.

"My room! In my room!" Akaito couldn't help raising his voice.

"Alright. Now you go get Meito and I'll go look after him," Luki instructed before running in the direction of Akaito's room. It piqued his interest, though. What were they doing in Akaito's room? He decided to save that for later.

Akaito went on to search for Meito. He didn't need to look for long. Meito was in the office, looking through papers as usual.

"Meito!" Akaito shouted, barging into the neat office. "Kuo fainted!"

Meito put down the papers and stood up immediately. "Take me to him. Quick!" He tried to hide his shaky voice. It wouldn't help to cause more uneasiness.

As Akaito led the way, he could feel the tense atmosphere around Meito, but he could also sense the latter's efforts to stay calm.

No wonder Meito's the big brother.

When they reached the room, Luki had already called for the ambulance.

Meito had confidence that Luki, the doctor of the house, knew what's wrong. "What happened, Luki?"

"... Poison," Luki said, a puzzled expression clear on his face. "Mikuo's poisoned."

Meito frowned deeply. As he was about to ask on the details, the wail of an ambulance siren interrupted him.

Right. Mikuo's safety first. Other matters later.

After getting Mikuo to the hospital and making sure he receives treatment as soon as possible, the three of them finally had the time and heart to talk.

"You sure it's poison?" Meito asked Luki first thing.

Luki brushed his pink bangs away from his face. "Pretty sure. But how come...?" His voice trailed off.

Akaito didn't say anything as he sat on a chair. He couldn't even register anything the other two said in his state of shock.

"Is someone after him?" Meito wondered out loud. "Or did he poison himself?" Knowing Mikuo's past, it wouldn't surprise Meito if Mikuo really did poison himself.

"I can't answer that, Meito." Luki gestured at Akaito. "Maybe Akaito might know something."

Meito glanced at the redhead. "He needs to pull himself together for now..."

Luki sighed in disappointment. "No clues then."

Akaito's lips moved and a weak voice came out from his throat. "Is he gonna... die?"

The two men didn't know how to answer that. Silence reigned until Luki said, "I don't know."

Meito sighed. "I'll go call up Miku and the others." He turned and headed outside.

"Luki... what should I do if he dies?" Akaito's fingers played with his scarf.

"I don't know." Luki's sapphire eyes stared at the ceiling.

"Isn't there anything you know?" Akaito asked mournfully.

"I don't know."

Akaito sniffled as tears brimmed in his eyes. "I love him very much."

"We all love the kid." Luki nodded. "He's so cute..."

"He's really good to me... He even let me read his diary..."

"Yeah..."

"He didn't scold me when I lost it..."

"Oh..."

"He was nice to Muri-chan despite being jealous of her..."

Luki sat down in a chair next to Akaito. "Now that I think of it, why were you two in your room?"

Akaito blinked. "I got tired of talking to him in his room so I asked him over. I can hug Beanie while talking to Kuo, too."

"..."

Akaito sniffled. "I wanna know more about him and talk to him more often..."

"I know... I wanna do that too."

"What if I couldn't get the chance to do that anymore?"

Meito came back. "Miku's on the way here. The others will be coming later."

The two nodded.

Not long after...

Miku ran straight up to Meito who was waiting at the front door of the hospital. "How's my Mikuo?" she immediately asked.

"He's alive." Meito answered. Mikuo had been successfully rescued and sent to rest in a ward.

"Of course he is! He's my little brother! How is he right now?" Miku asked impatiently.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Meito said, leading the way.

Inside the white room, Akaito sat beside Mikuo's bed, admiring the boy's long eyelashes. He never actually noticed before how... pretty Mikuo was.

Just then, Mikuo cracked open one eye. "... Akaito?"

"Kuo!" Akaito hugged his friend. "They said you're poisoned and I'm so worried that you'd die!"

"Poison?"

"But everything's okay now because they saved you!"

Mikuo gently pushed his friend away. "Poison, huh..."

"Mikuo!" Miku burst into the room. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Mikuo smiled at his sister.

"How come you're poisoned? Do you have any idea?" Miku asked worriedly.

"I used poison the last time I attempted suicide..." Mikuo lowered his head.

"You're so stupid!" Akaito was the one who responded instead. "What's so nice about suicide anyway! Everyone's panicking when you fainted, you know! What will we do if you died?!"

"But the last suicide attempt was before he met everyone," Meito reminded him.

Mikuo shook his head. "I was in depression for a while when Akaito got his girlfriend and left me alone."

"Mmh, anyway, what's important is that Mikuo's alright," Luki said, happy that he could finally get a word in.

"Yeah!" Akaito grinned.

Mikuo smiled. "Thank you all. I'm really glad to have friends like you."

"We're glad to have such a cute friend too." Meito chuckled.

"I'm glad to have you as my brother!" Miku said and gave Mikuo a hug.

Mikuo had on his most brilliant smile yet.

The crowd of Vocaloids that came in afterwards almost forced Mikuo into unconsciousness again, but he didn't mind. Not at all.

* * *

A/N: It's such a joyful feeling to know that you're loved, right? :D

This is the longest chapter I've written yet. O_O


	23. Chapter 23: The Shions

A/N: I have Troubled Windchimes to thank for the idea of this chapter :D

Though I'm afraid it's not very nicely done... It could achieve greater heights... Anyway, please enjoy!

Warning: Strange Kikaito ahead O_O

* * *

Akaito was very, very upset. He didn't say anything along the way to the Shion house, his old home. Under other circumstances he'd be happy to go home, but that wasn't other circumstances.

Mikuo was going with him, and Akaito's old home was the last place he wanted Mikuo to be in.

Mikuo knew that, so he didn't try to cheer his friend up. The two walked in absolute silence.

Finally, Akaito spoke up. "Kuo."

"Hm?"

Akaito gave Mikuo a good long look. "This may be the last time we talk like this."

"What?" Mikuo frowned.

Akaito didn't explain further. "Why do you have to go there, Kuo? I can't guarantee you'd get out alive."

Mikuo shrugged. "They suggested that I go with you... What's so deadly about your old home anyway?"

"Mm... Taito, for instance. And Kikaito, in a way. And Nigaito's illness. Agh, even my habanero peppers are deadly." Akaito was already getting nervous thinking about it.

"You're just paranoid. Don't forget, I survived Miku and the Kagamines. That should amount to something."

"Ah...! So you might survive after all!" Akaito heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, something concrete that could help him believe in Mikuo's ability to get through! "Hey, we're here." He stopped in front of a house.

Mikuo looked at the gigantic house. "...Oh."

"I've never seen the backyard before, for your information." Akaito grinned, walking up to the front door. He rang the bell.

Within a few minutes, the door opened to reveal a little boy in green standing in the doorway, complete with green hair.

"Hi, Nigaito!" Akaito grinned.

The cute little child called Nigaito beamed. "Akaito-nii! You're back!" He ran and fell into the redhead's open arms.

"Yup, me's back! And I brought a friend over." Akaito nodded at Mikuo. "Name's Hatsune Mikuo, Miku's brother."

Nigaito looked at Mikuo with big, round eyes. "Whoa..."

"Nice to meet you, Nigaito-kun." Mikuo smiled at the child.

Nigaito blinked and buried himself in Akaito's embrace, blushing madly.

"The kid's shy as usual." Akaito laughed. "Let's go in."

Mikuo followed Akaito inside. The place was really big...

"AKAITO-NII!" A whole chorus of Shions shouted all at once.

"I'M BACK!" Akaito shouted back with all his might. "Gosh, it feels so good to be home," he added in a softer tone.

"You're everyone's big brother in here, aren't you?" Mikuo watched as Shion after Shion ran towards his friend.

"Second-in-command after Shion Kaito, at your service." Akaito grinned.

Mikuo smiled. He wasn't going to complain about the multitudes of annoying scarfs yet. He noticed a teen trailing behind the crowd, seemingly hesitant about following the others. The boy didn't have a scarf on. Most of his body was in bandages, and an eye was covered with an eyepatch. He had a look of disdain on his face as his vision focused on Mikuo.

Shion Taito.

Mikuo gave him a smile.

Taito averted his gaze.

"Don't mind him. He's just shy," a deep voice said beside Mikuo.

Mikuo looked at the owner of the voice. He was, well, yellow. Shion Kikaito. "Oh..."

Kikaito had a gleam in his eye as he called over to Akaito. "Hey, Akaito! I'll borrow your friend for a while, 'kay?"

"Okay!" Akaito was busy managing his siblings, so he didn't put much thought into it.

"C'mon." Kikaito took Mikuo's hand and led him outside. He sat the latter on a swing in the garden and took a seat beside him. He looked at Mikuo with great interest. "So you're Miku's brother?"

"Yes." Mikuo was feeling uncomfortable under Kikaito's gaze.

"Cool!" Kikaito grinned a grin relatively similar to Akaito's usual grin. "Say, you got a boyfriend yet?"

"I beg your pardon?" Mikuo didn't want to believe his ears. No. Way.

"Hm... was Akaito cheating on Anone-san with you?" Kikaito's gaze became more intense.

"I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're getting at." Mikuo didn't WANT to understand either.

"I like you, see? So I wanna make sure you're single before I date you. C'mon, speak up. I'm not gonna bite." Kikaito winked. "Not yet."

"Uh..."

Meanwhile, Akaito suddenly realised something. He ran out the door after shouting an 'excuse me', praying that the worst hadn't happened...

He noticed yellow and teal on the swing.

"What the- KIKAITO!" Akaito screamed as he tore across the grounds, headed for the garden.

Kikaito turned to face his brother, his hand a few inches away from Mikuo's cheek. "Mm?"

Akaito reached the two and slapped Kikaito's hand away. "No touching Kuo, you hear?"

"Eeehhh..." Kikaito pouted. "But he's so cute that you can hardly believe he's a boy... you're so lucky to have someone like him around you." He didn't believe that Akaito was seriously angry. Akaito never had anything to say about his preferences.

"Kuo's lucky it wasn't you he's best friends with!" Akaito turned his attention on Mikuo, caressing Mikuo's head like he would a hurt kitten. "Promise me you won't touch Kuo."

"Can't do that, Akaito. He's-"

"Promise me," Akaito stressed in a darker tone.

Kikaito blinked in shock. Akaito's not angry... right?

Akaito glared at Kikaito. "Promise me!"

"Okay, I promise... Chill, man..." Kikaito said as if in a daze.

All the while Mikuo was looking past Akaito at the ridiculous mess of colours that were the Shions.

Taito popped out from the group and left.

"Aren't I excited to discover the secrets of the Shions?" Mikuo muttered to himself.

Moments later...

"Hatsune Mikuo," a cold voice said behind Mikuo.

Mikuo was zoning out in the kitchen when he heard his name being called. He turned around to see Taito behind him. "Hello, Taito-kun."

"Don't call me by that." Taito's eye turned wild for a moment until he regained his composure. "Does Kikaito frighten you?"

"... Quite." Mikuo decided to be honest with this guy. There's nothing to gain if he lied anyway.

"Well, then, you should've met Kamaito." Taito neared Mikuo a little, enough to let the latter notice the icepick in his hand.

"Kamaito? Akaito mentioned him before." Mikuo didn't bother about the icepick.

"'Her'," Taito corrected him.

"Sorry." Mikuo nodded in understanding.

"Hypocrite." Taito spat out the word as if it were poison. "You evil hypocrite, acting as if you're so knowledgeable and calm. I hate the likes of you. How on earth did Akaito-nii become best friends with a hypocrite? He's such an honest man!"

Mikuo made no comment. His eyes caught sight of flaming red near the doorway.

"You changed him. I hate you." Taito's grip on the icepick tightened a little.

"I never expected for everyone to like me," Mikuo said calmly.

Taito raised the weapon in fury. "How long do you plan on acting, huh? You-"

"Enough, Taito."

Taito knew it was Akaito by the voice. He growled. "NO!"

"This is enough, I said!" A hand grabbed Taito's armed hand. "You disappoint me!"

Mikuo saw tears glisten in the one eye. He had had enough. "Let him go, Akaito. You're hurting him."

"He tried to hurt you!" Akaito didn't do as he was told.

"I don't care," Mikuo said firmly, "Let Taito go."

Akaito slowly released Taito's hand.

Taito screamed at the redhead. "You weren't like this before! You never said such cold things! I know the hypocrite changed you! You kept looking at him for recognition! I'm bringing you back, don't you see?!"

"What...?!" Akaito glared at Taito.

Mikuo looked to Akaito. "You're trying to prove to me that you can manage the house well, correct?"

Akaito stared at Mikuo. "No... I wasn't... I mean, I..."

"I trust you, so you don't have to prove anything to me, okay?" Mikuo smiled. "And thank you for protecting me from the supposed dangers of your home."

Akaito had a look of relief on his face, but a tint of sadness coloured his eyes. "I failed to prove that I can manage my siblings, didn't I?"

"I'm sure all of us here objects to that." Mikuo looked at Taito. "Right?"

Taito looked away. "... Yeah," he said in a small voice.

A hand grabbed Akaito's scarf. "Akaito! Where on earth did you find this darling of a boy?! He's so awesomely awesome!"

It was Kikaito.

"Oh, and, Kikaito?" Mikuo smiled his creepy smile which never worked on Akaito. "I'm fairly sure I'm not interested in guys."

"... Geez." Kikaito tried to hide his fear of the intention behind the creepy smile. "Can't be helped."

"I'm looking forward to meeting all of the Shion household!" Mikuo announced, smiling brightly.

"This guy's really good at handling things, isn't he?" Kikaito whispered to Akaito.

Taito's shoulder twitched.

Akaito laughed. "You shouldn't expect any less from someone who survived Hatsune Miku and the Kagamines!"

It was no secret. Akaito is proud of his best friend.

* * *

A/N: It's not like I hold any grudges against Kikaito, okay? Just spur of the moment and Kikaito became like that O_O

This chapter's really long... O_O


	24. Chapter 24: The Shions II

A/N: Change of plans for my updating days! From now on it'll be on Saturdays only because my lack of studies is taking its toll QwQ

I'm hitting bottom on the stock of chapters anyway -_-

Anyway, hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

"Kuo, wanna go on a picnic with my siblings?" Akaito asked one day while they were lazing around.

"Sure." Mikuo turned the page of the book he was reading.

"It's today, you know." Akaito grinned.

"Oh."

"And it starts in an hour."

"Oh."

"So let's go now, 'kay?"

"Sure." Mikuo figured it's not worth his time to lecture Akaito about inviting people at an earlier date about such events.

"It's gonna be held at the park." Akaito stood up. "C'mon."

Mikuo closed the book and put it away. "Mm."

On the way there, Akaito started explaining, "It's just us Shions and you because you're the only non-Shion that can put up with us."

Mikuo nodded.

"The others coming are Nigaito, Taito, Kikaito, Zeito, Akaiko and Kamaito."

"Hm."

"Kikaito's actually really nice, y'know. He just gets out of control sometimes."

"Mm."

"Taito's not bad, too. Sort of cute if you look closely."

"Oh."

"Kamaito's a bit scary... but 'she' doesn't mean to."

"Hm."

"Zeito's really quiet, but I bet you can make him talk!"

"We'll see about that."

"And Akaiko's a bit of a tomboy... Can't be helped, since most of the Shions are male."

"Mmhmm..." Mikuo sighed. "I'll get to know them once I get there, so it's okay if you don't introduce them now."

"I'm just trying to warn you." Akaito pouted.

"Thanks." Mikuo smiled.

The moment they arrive at the meeting place, Akaiko ran up to them. "You're late!"

"Sorry, Akaiko-chan." Akaito patted the girl's head.

Mikuo gave her a small smile.

It didn't take long for Mikuo to find himself totally out of sync with the others, probably because the Shions weren't accustomed to non-Shions sticking around.

So when the others were happily talking and playing and fooling around, Mikuo chose to sit under a tree to watch them have fun. He figured it would help if he observed how the Shions interact with each other.

Mikuo didn't notice Zeito sitting at the other side of the tree, so when he decided to look around, he was surprised to find Zeito there.

"Shion Zeito?" Mikuo asked.

"Hatsune Mikuo," Zeito quietly greeted him.

Mikuo sat beside Zeito. The latter didn't react.

Silence.

"Found you two!" A deep, excited voice called from above their heads. "They're gonna play a game, interested?"

Mikuo looked up at the yellow man. "I'll pass."

Zeito motioned for Kikaito to go away.

"Such a passive duo." Kikaito shook his head and went away.

More silence.

"Zeito-nii, aren't you coming?" A trembling, little voice asked not long after Kikaito's gone.

Zeito shook his head.

Mikuo didn't mind Nigaito overlooking himself. Of course he didn't. Nigaito's a shy kid, after all.

"Oh." The green child ran off.

Even more silence.

A hand touched Zeito's forearm. "Zeito-kun, why won't you join in? Mikuo-kun can join in too, you know."

Mikuo studied the shocking sight that was Kamaito while Zeito shook his head furiously. Apparently Zeito doesn't like the transvestite.

"Mikuo-kun, how about you?" Kamaito asked in a deep but sickly sweet voice.

"I'll pass." Mikuo managed a smile.

"Shall I call Akaito-kun over to drag you out there?"

"No, thanks." Mikuo's smile hardened.

"Don't be shy, it'll be fun."

Does he mean the games or getting dragged by Akaito? "I'm staying here, thank you very much."

"That's a pity." Kamaito sighed dramatically and went away.

More silence.

"Kuo! Why won't you join in?!" The wailing voice of none other than Akaito made Mikuo wince.

Mikuo looked to see Akaito and Taito in front of them.

"And Zeito, too!" Akaito was almost in tears.

Zeito stared at his brother, then shrugged.

"It's not fair. Why should I join in when they don't have to?" Taito glared questioningly at Akaito.

"Let's all have fun!" Akaito shouted in frustration. "Why are you ruining this happy day?!"

That got the passive duo to get up and join in the others. Akaiko, who was watching the whole thing, came to the conclusion that Akaito was more loved than she thought him to be, because Mikuo and Zeito couldn't stand seeing Akaito upset.

Akaiko smiled.

Mikuo found that even though Kikaito was a bit weird, he cares a lot about his friends and family. That allowed Mikuo to ease over the only thing troubling him about the Shions.

Mikuo smiled as he started to realise that he loves the Shions. Really, they're not so crazy after all...

* * *

A/N: That's all for today! Thanks for bearing with me! :D


	25. Chapter 25: The solo

A/N: Okay so I'll be doing a double chapter update and all of my chapters will be officially used up. For now. Dunno when I'll write more...

Whatever! So this chapter is a bit different from the previous chapters, because...

Someone's missing OwO

* * *

"It's your first time singing solo for recording, right?" Meito asked.

"... Yeah," Mikuo answered. His palms were sweaty and cold, so he kept rubbing them against his pants.

"Nervous?" Meito raised an eyebrow.

"Quite." Mikuo exhaled slowly. He needed to calm down fast.

"You'll get used to it." Meito smiled in attempt to comfort the boy.

'Was the studio so empty before?' Mikuo looked around. Where's Akaito when he needs him? Right, on a date with Muri. 'At least he's kind enough to ask Meito to accompany me,' Mikuo thought, sighing.

"Everything's ready, Kuo-kun." Meito patted Mikuo's back. "Gambatte."

Mikuo nodded and entered the recording room.

'It's so lonely in here...'

Mikuo frowned.

Meito did, too. Mikuo was trembling. Vocaloids don't tremble in preparation to sing.

'Kuo-kun isn't preparing to sing, is he?' Meito thought, his frown deepening.

Mikuo looked at the lyric sheet. Romeo and Cinderella? He blinked.

"Alright, Mikuo-kun, starting in 3, 2, 1..."

What? Wait, when...?!

Mikuo missed the timing, which caused him to panic and miss everything else.

After seeing Mikuo struggle to regain composure and failing for the tenth time, Meito decided to call for a break.

When Mikuo walked gloomily out, Meito went up to comfort him. "Hey, it's okay. Pull yourself together."

Mikuo shook his head. "It's not okay. I caused trouble and wasted everyone's efforts again and again."

Meito sighed and rubbed Mikuo's back. "Relax, Kuo-kun. Have more confidence in yourself, okay? You're the main character in this recording. Don't fret. We'll bear with you, no matter how many tries it will take to perfect it. We're all here for you."

"But..."

"It's okay." Meito smiled warmly. "Go in there and let us spoil you rotten."

"Really?" Mikuo looked up at Meito, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Yeah." Meito wiped the tears away.

Mikuo smiled. "Okay." He thought for a while. "Um... don't-"

"Tell Akaito. Got it." Meito laughed. "Because he'll get worried."

"Yeah." Mikuo beamed as he entered the recording room once more.

"Sorry for the interruption. Let's continue," Mikuo announced, firming himself.

Meito couldn't help smiling in pride as Mikuo hit the first note. Perfect, just as expected of a Hatsune.

* * *

A/N: Hm. So... yeah. A bit short isn't it ._.


	26. Chapter 26: The cat

A/N: I've got my friend to thank for giving me the idea to write this chapter. What can I say, writer's block is so annoying.

* * *

"Kuo, look!" Akaito's voice cried in excitement.

Mikuo looked up from his novel.

Akaito was holding up a little brown cat. "I found it outside! Let's keep it, 'kay?"

"Don't hold it like that." Mikuo took the cat from Akaito's hands.

"Is that a yes?" Akaito looked at his friend hopefully.

"Yeah." Mikuo examined the cat.

"Hooray!" Akaito cheered. "So what name should we give it?"

"... Tama," Mikuo suggested.

"What about Flufferz?"

"Tama."

"Mr. Cuddle?"

"Tama."

"Teh Awesome Nyan!"

"Tama."

"Oh! What about Tama? Hey, let's call it Tama!"

'Are. You. Kidding. Me.' Mikuo smiled. "Tama's fine."

"Tama! Your name's Tama from now on, 'kay?" Akaito poked the cat.

Tama was already asleep in Mikuo's arms.

"I think he likes you." Akaito grinned. "You be his Mum and I'll be his Dad, 'kay?"

"... Okay." Mikuo nodded.

"From now on, Tama is Mikuo and Akaito property! Yay! Congratulations!" Akaito patted Tama's head.

"Yeah."

"Is Hachune Mikuo gonna be okay with this?" Akaito suddenly asked.

"He should be, as long as I give him his daily dose of leeks and hugs." Mikuo looked at the little guy standing on his desk.

"I've never been a Dad before... This is so exciting!" Akaito lifted Tama from Mikuo's arms, waking Tama in the process.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me to be a Mum," Mikuo muttered. "Hey, I said don't hold it like that."

"Sorry." Akaito quickly corrected his posture. "You're doing great as a Mum. Keep it up, Kuo!"

"Hm. I'm going to buy Tama some stuff," Mikuo announced, "So you better stay at home and take care of it."

"Okay!" Akaito grinned. "Tama, say bye-bye to Mum!"

Tama ignored his Dad, because he found something to play with: Dad's scarf.

"Tama's so cute..." Mikuo could still hear Akaito mumbling as he left the room.

Mikuo wondered why he kept getting himself into trouble for Akaito's sake. But that's just it. He just couldn't bear to say no to the idiot.

Mikuo phoned Kaiko who was shopping at the moment. "Hello, Kaiko."

"Hi, Mikuo! Wassup?"

"I'm joining you to shop. Akaito managed to adopt a cat."

"Whoa! Long time since he decided to keep anything as a pet! How did you do that?"

"... He just barged in while holding a cat. I didn't do anything."

"Aww, so Aka-chan got a cat specially for his Kuo! Awwwww!"

"Uh, so, well, see ya." Mikuo quickly hung up. He thought over what Kaiko said.

Then he smiled.

* * *

A/N: This marks the bottom of my manuscript for now... Need to write more chapters...


	27. Chapter 27: The outing II

A/N: Thanks to keitanaka for the idea of this story!

It's a bit sudden, but I'm announcing this story as complete after the next chapter, because I'm seriously out of ideas for this setting. I'll be doing a double chapter today so that means today is the last updating date.

I'll save my other words for the next chapter, so for now please sit back and enjoy~

* * *

"Kuo! Ready for the second outing?" Akaito asked, entering Mikuo's room without knocking, as usual.

"Knock, Akaito. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Mikuo finished putting on his shirt.

Akaito looked around. "Where's our baby, Kuo?"

"With Luka-san. Hachune Mikuo is with her, too. Good thing she offered to help, or it'll be troublesome to bring them along."

Akaito nodded. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Then let's go!"

The ones going were Meito, Luki, Akaito and Mikuo. Len couldn't make it because he had work. Once the four had gathered, they went into Meito's car. Meito had meant to use it for the previous trip, but it broke down.

When they had settled in, they set off.

"Where are we going?" Mikuo asked from the backseat, with Akaito looking out the window beside him.

"Anywhere!" Luki answered with a smile.

Meito, who was sitting in the driver's seat beside Luki, didn't make any comments.

There was nothing but silence for the next thirty minutes or so.

"Um... where exactly are we going, Meito?" Luki asked. He didn't recognise the coastal scenery.

Meito pulled up beside the road and sighed. "To be honest, I'm wondering about that too."

"Ehh?!" Luki's exclamation startled the napping duo in the backseat.

"What's the matter?" Akaito asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Meito got lost again," Luki said, glaring at the driver.

Meito shrugged. "Things happen."

"Why don't we go back and get to the wrong turn we took?" Mikuo suggested calmly.

"I was just going to do that." Meito was about to navigate the vehicle back on the road when suddenly the engine died. Meito was the first to react, crying, "Why die on me now?! Why?!" He then tried to restart the engine like mad, but in vain.

Luki sighed. He stared at the sea to his left. "I guess we'll have to have our outing here."

"I'll call for help." Meito dialled a number on his phone.

Luki got out of the car, signalling to Mikuo and Akaito to get out also.

Soon the four were facing the sea with their backs to the car.

"I'm hungry," Akaito said. He missed breakfast; of course he'd feel hungry.

Mikuo opened his backpack and took out a lunchbox, handing it to Akaito.

"Weee~ Kuo, you're the best!" Akaito grinned, taking the lunchbox. "Did you make it yourself?"

"Yeah..." Mikuo shrugged.

"Geez, I want one too." Luki pouted. He was the kind of person who can't sit quietly without something to chew on.

So Mikuo passed him a bag of chips.

"... Why?" Luki cried under his breath. He was expecting something like what Akaito got.

"What about me?" Meito asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

Mikuo threw him a can of soda.

"... Why, indeed?" Meito was almost in tears. So he was only worth a can of soda? T.T

Mikuo heard them. "I only prepared for myself because I didn't want to buy food outside," he explained.

The other three looked at their food, then at Mikuo.

"You mean... this is all the food you have?" Luki asked, his eyes widening.

"Pretty much," Mikuo answered.

"MIKUO-SAMA!" The three were touched to tears. Of course they would be. Mikuo sacrificed his precious lunch to them.

Mikuo's face went red. "Just eat already!"

After they had divided the lunch and eaten it, the four continued staring at the sea.

"I LOVE YOU!" Meito suddenly shouted at the sea.

The other three glared at him.

"It's called venting." Meito looked at them. "Just scream your frustration at the sea."

"LUKA IS NUMBER ONE!" Luki tried, too.

"HABANERO!" Akaito followed suit, then laughed. "This is pretty fun! Try it, Kuo!"

Mikuo looked at him. "Really?"

"Go ahead!" Luki smiled.

"STUPID AKAITO!"

"So. Cute," the other three said at once.

"What?" Mikuo glared at them.

As if on cue, the help that Meito called for arrived just then.

"Yay! We can go back now!" Akaito cheered.

Mikuo wasn't sure why, but he felt especially tired that day.

* * *

A/N: Whew! Hope I did well on writing this chapter!


	28. Chapter 28: The final words

A/N: Get ready for the final chapter...

* * *

"Kuo, they say that this story's gonna end." Akaito said, hugging Tama.

"It has already ended." Mikuo sighed. "Been through a lot, haven't we?"

"Don't worry, a new story's coming up." Luki patted the two on the back.

"I want more screen time." Miku pouted.

Mikuo laughed and ruffled his sister's hair. "You'll be getting what you want in the new story."

Everyone shot him a look. Hatsune Mikuo actually broke the fourth wall?!

Mikuo frowned. "What, is this getting recorded?"

"Well... yes." Meito smiled.

"ACK!" Mikuo's face went red.

"Sorry I'm late!" Muri rushed in. "Did I miss anything?"

"You missed everything, Muri-chan!" Akaito laughed.

Luka sighed. "I hope no one noticed my mistakes..."

"You did well, Luka-nee!" Rin and Len sang together.

Kaito grinned Akaito's usual grin. "Aw, I wish the other Shions were here."

"We're here! Kaito-nii!" A group of colours barged in, shocking everyone.

Meiko was sulking in a corner. "The only scene I get is the scene where I get drunk! Oh, am I flattered!"

Kaiko went over to her and tried to comfort her.

Hachune Mikuo climbed up on Mikuo's head while Tama jumped into his arms. As if that wasn't enough, Akaito gave him a big hug.

"Did I just get a happy family aura from them?" Miku nudged Luka, nodding towards her brother.

"Keep your fangirl senses down, Miku."

Mikuo smiled. "Thanks, you all... Thanks for being with me."

"Duh!" Everyone responded.

"Alright, everybody stand together! We're taking a group photo!" Meito clapped his hands.

The Vocaloids quickly stood in their places with Mikuo and Akaito in the center. All heads turned to the camera.

"Say 'cheese'!"

"Cheeeeeese!"

* * *

A/N: The end~

Alright! This is the end, then. Thank you all for your support! See you in my next story! :D Though it won't be posted in the near future... I have exams coming TwT


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